One of the main showcases for UK gaming has been cancelled, reflecting the wider struggles of an industry which has seen a series of job cuts and studio closures.

The WASD expo – which is usually held in London in April – is a shop window for British talent, with a particular emphasis on smaller, independent game-makers.

But its organiser has now gone into asset sale.

Co-founder David Lilley told the BBC “increasing costs and less demand for stand space means running events is just not viable for us anymore.”

There had been hazard-taking about the occurrence’s upcoming after the WASD website disappeared from community view months after its 2024 expo took place.

But the industry has still reacted with shock and dismay at the confirmation it was no longer going ahead.

James Lightfoot, from the UK-based Lightfoot Bros Games, was picked to showcase his game Sleepytime Village at the occurrence this year, and said he was “so unhappy to listen it will be no more.”

Dave Gilbert, the founder of American independent games developer Wadjet Eye Games, who attended the conference every year, called it “an amazing showcase for everything the UK game scene has to propose.”

WASD first opened its doors in 2022 as an respond to the closure of EGX Rezzed, an offshoot of the London gaming celebration EGX, which concentrated mainly on smaller, alternative video games and their developers.

The expo typically occurred alongside the London Games celebration in April.

As well as talks from industry members, WASD showcased a variety of demos from upcoming smaller games, alongside bigger releases such as Street Fighter 6 and Vampire Survivors.

David Lilley told the BBC he recognised the importance of the occurrence for the “indie and creator throng” and wanted “to receive this chance to thank everyone who has supported us along the way.”

It comes at a challenging period for in-person gaming events across the UK and the gaming industry as a whole.

In September, Insomnia Gaming celebration, the UK’s biggest gaming expo, was due to receive place in Birmingham, but following a number of lay-offs at its organiser, Player1 Events, tickets never went on sale.

Whilst London’s other video game showcase EGX did receive place this October, it did so in collaboration with MCM Comic Con, rather than as a stand-alone occurrence.

The history two years have also seen mass lay-offs from some of the industry’s biggest companies, such as Xbox makers Microsoft and Sony, which makes PlayStation, following a period of record growth and profits during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Rachel Watts, games journalist and co-host of the Indieventure Podcast, believes the announcement is a reflection of a wider movement from companies towards announcing their games online.

“Now that bigger gaming companies are running their own digital events, there’s no rationale for them to spend period, money, and resources on being now at in-person events.”

“But for indie developers, events like WASD are vital to showcase their games to the community while also building a throng within the indie space.”